Nagas protest in Manipur capital Imphal demanding release of six civilians

Hundreds of Nagas on Monday staged a protest rally in Manipur's capital Imphal, demanding the immediate release of six civilians allegedly held hostage by suspected Kuki militants.

Organised by the Naga People's Union Imphal, the rally, joined by several members of the Meitei community, began from the Tribal Market area in Imphal East district and headed towards the chief minister's bungalow.

The protesters were stopped by a large contingent of security personnel near the Palace Gate, around 200 metres from the chief minister's residence, after marching nearly 300 metres, officials said.

A delegation of the union was, however, allowed to go and submit a memorandum to Chief Minister Y Khemchand Singh.

In the memorandum, the organisation demanded immediate action against armed Kuki militants allegedly involved in the abduction of six Naga civilians.

It also sought the removal of Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen from the council of ministers, alleging that her husband heads the militant outfit, Kuki National Front (Presidential), and was responsible for the abduction.

The memorandum also demanded abrogation of the Suspension of Operations (SoO) pact between the Centre, the state government and Kuki militant groups, besides deportation of ''Kuki refugees''.

The protesters raised slogans such as ''Down Down Nemcha Kipgen'', ''Release Six Nagas without condition'' and ''Repeal SoO''.

One poster targeting Kipgen read, ''How can a militant's wife become a deputy chief minister.''.

More than 38 people were abducted and held hostage by armed groups in Kangpokpi and Senapati districts on May 13, hours after three church leaders were killed in an ambush in Kangpokpi district.

Of them, 32 people, including 12 Naga women and 16 Kukis, have since been released. However, six Naga men are still missing, and their whereabouts remain unknown.

Kuki Inpi Manipur has, however, claimed that 14 people from their community continued to be held hostage by Naga groups.

Meanwhile, DGP Rajiv Singh said talks are underway with various groups and security forces are conducting operations to trace several persons allegedly being held hostage by different groups in the hill districts.

Singh, who was recently appointed secretary (security) in the cabinet secretariat, told reporters, ''We are working on the missing persons. We had several rounds of talks and conducted operations as well.''.

Reflecting on his tenure in the state, Singh said, ''It is definitely a complex place to work. However, with the team and everybody here, we have been able to tackle it, and things are definitely better than they were.''.

''I had a beautiful time here and a fantastic team. Manipur Police is one of the best police forces in the country, and one of the fittest also. Everyone is same here -- no differences of ranks and genders,'' he added.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)